Sleight

"Sleight" had SO much potential. The magic sequences were entertaining. The performances were believable, and the characters had time to develop. The tone was set from the beginning to be tense, and the buildup was incredible. The film would keep making you think the girl would be kidnapped throughout the film, but when it finally happens, it cheaps out BIG time. All the subtleties are suddenly exaggerated. Things got silly all at the last moments of the film. The climax was boring. There was no sense of urgency anymore. The tone just INSTANTLY changes. Is this supposed to be epic? Am I supposed to be laughing? I didn't know anymore, and it didn't help that everyone's performances got goofy. The trailers were trying to sell this film as some sort of urban superhero tale, but since it took so long to get to the kidnapping, they had to cram all the heroics in at the last minute, thus wasting all the time they took developing everything including my time. What an absolute disappointment.

After screening "Sleight," I now understand why on the poster there's a quote by a critic describing this film as "Chronicle" meets "Iron Man," because that's the perfect description for it, you can't say it any much better than that without revealing spoilers. The story is basic and yet the way it's shot, it has that sense of naturalistic realism with most of the pivotal scenes happening at night, so "Sleight" basically carries Michael Mann's style.

Written and directed by J.D. Dillard, Jacob Latimore plays a young street magician named Bo who takes care of his little sister after their parents' passing and in order to pay the bills he also sells drugs for a known vicious dealer named Angelo (Dule Hill). Sasheer Zamata is the next door neighbor who looks out for Bo's sister when he's out for work. Co-starring Seychelle Gabriel as Bo's girlfriend. When Bo gets in too deep with the criminal group, they kidnap his sister and he's forced to use his so-called magic to save her.

In a lot of ways, "Sleight" entertains those of us fans of illusion and magic, those of us who've always wondered how on earth Criss Angel does what he does. The things that Bo (Latimore) can do will amaze you but there's a twist to his ability which you'd have to watch the movie for yourself to find out what that really is. So that alone makes "Sleight' intriguing and fascinating, your eyes glued to the screen the entire time. You want to see how Bo would use his magic skills to get himself and his sister out of the mess they find themselves in. Dule Hill's performance as the villain is basically your stereotypical street gangster but Hill delivers it just fine.

Even though Jacob Latimore has been around for quite some time as an actor, I first noticed his work in "Collateral Beauty" which was an awful movie by the way, but Latimore stood out. He has a level of intensity that other rising stars may lack. The young man has the potential to be extraordinary and Oscar-worthy someday. So although "Sleight" crime thriller/drama can't quite find its footing, the way it wraps up at the end is nothing short of hardcore.

-- Rama's Screen --

At the start it felt like I was in for a treat. I felt like something very interesting will happen in this story. But little did I know that was the zenith of this movie. Everything went down from that cliff.

On the hindsight the story is not so different form any other poorly written action movie. The directing was interesting enough to make it seem like this had something in it. If you have watched this movie and liked it then take a break and really think about the story. It is utterly ridiculous.

This is not a good movie and I would recommend skipping it.

OK, this is one of those movies where the lead character is a likable victim. He is shy and reserved but gets pulled into drama and makes bad choices, the anti-hero. BUT he is played as a HERO. If you disagree, you are racist?! This kid forgoes a college scholarship to take care of his baby sister (I guess he couldn't do that in college). SO, then he becomes a drug dealer. Then he becomes a violent felon. Then he betrays a close friend for money. And on and on. But we are supposed to pull for him. He lies and steals and carries a gun into a crime and ...... not a hero. Sorry -- don't feel sorry for the lifetime victim. Get a job, son.

The movie started out fairly well with a engineering decent background for Bo, with his technical skills causing him to go to dangerous depths to better his street magic and provide for his sister. The conflict with the drugs and gangs is decently executed and the acting is good, but they really should've focused more on the actual "tricks" rather than ending with such super powered/fantastical flair.